"Yowch!... I really need to get better at fighting, Because getting all cut up like this sucks." Bandaging up numerous cuts and slashes across my body while furiously cursing under my breath all the while. It had been nearly half a day since I started scavenging my kills along the way to the oasis, and for a while, it was going well. During the daytime, the number of creatures out and about is rather small in comparison to the swarms of deadly creatures at night. My main mistake was the large amount of scavenged animal parts strapped to the outside of my backpack. As soon as night came around I attracted everything within a miles radius that wanted to kill me.
'And as much as I would love to clean out these wounds I only have so much antiseptic and I cannot refuse to waste any more water at this point.' situated on a nearby rock island I finished dressing up the last of my injuries. Leaning my back against the cold stone I was propped up against, I began to flood my body with my Ten as I began to recuperate for a while.
*sigh* "that feels… better. Though I wish my pain tolerance wasn't so pitiful" after sitting in that state for a while more I eventually pull myself together and get back to marching in the desert. While I had lost a bit of speed and my movements more stiff, The injuries I sustained were only superficial. Although they did wonders in worsening my already sour mood.
'This experience has been a whole ordeal… While I enjoy exploring new places, I'm not sure if this place is even worth the trouble. I mean it's a desert, all there is here is rocks, sand, and various animals.' looking around at the scenery, or rather lack of it I began questioning the whole exploration idea. However, I had to remind myself that as of now I had no real choice on what I could do.
"This oasis better be all it's chalked up to be…" with similar downtrodden sentiments In mind I pushed through the last stretch of the journey. All the while, I began to notice the small shift in scenery, slowly the concentration of the rocky island clusters began to increase. This turned the monotonous march of the dessert into a hike through the rocky outcrops. Something that was much more my style, As my pace speed up significantly as I no longer had to walk on the sand nearly as much.
'Though I have to remember to pace myself, I have to be on the look out when I am this close to the finish line' deciding to take a short detour I climb up the current island I was on and reach the top within a handful of minutes. From up high, I could finally spot what I have been looking for this whole time. And while I could not make out too many details from afar, the vivid greenery and blue water that was situated within a valley.
"Huh… well it's right there, which is certainly nice but I figured it would be more treacherous getting to this point?" While I was certainly banged up at the moment, I assumed from the description that there would be hordes of creatures trying to eat me.
'Maybe the worm did move out from here due to lack of prey? It is still the dead of the night, meaning there should be numerous animals around here. Yet I cannot spot or hear a single one, unlike when I was in the outskirts or middle areas of the desert.' further focusing on the surroundings further cemented my observation. The eerie silence of the usually active night of the desert was offputting.
'But there still remains the possibility of diurnal animals around this area instead of nocturnal explaining why the sandworm was more active at day…' rationalizing the lack of signs of life I began piecing together various clues to create various theories. All the while, I was subconsciously trying to avoid or discredit my original and more likely idea of some sort of food chain displacement through a stronger creature moving into this area.
*rustle* *rustle* deciding to go into the last stretch of the journey in the best condition possible, I began readying myself and supplies. Taking out the last of my food and water I ate one last meal before moving onto doing regular maintenance on my revolver and making sure everything was in working order.
"Well… let's just get this over with." setting off and going back down the side of the island I move onwards at a slower or moderate pace. And as I moved closer to the steep rocky walls that surround and fence in the oasis, I encountered nothing. Which did nothing to reassure me, instead I felt an uncomfortable sensation that kept nagging at me. Having taken nearly two hours to make it to the foot of the valley I was incredibly tense, with each second passing by more unsettling than the last.
'As a Hunter, I should be trusting instinct and go fuck off but… It is either an uncertain death in the oasis or a certain one within the extreme heat of the desert as I slowly starve and die of dehydration…' steeling my will I began to walk around the circumference of the valley looking for some sort of entrance into the oasis.
"I don't like sand… It's coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere… especially that last part, getting sand in an open wound has been… enlightening." further voicing all my complaints to get them out of my system I then proceed to stop in front of a small opening in the rocky terrain.